chasing the wind

My big boys are outside chasing the wind right now and of course having a fabulous time!  We are having the most beautiful day here in sunny California.  I may even bundle up the babies for a stroll this afternoon.  Although, there won't be much bundling required since it is 61 degrees here with a high of 66.  It will be so nice to be outside.

I am very much missing my blogging world, but home life has required all of my energy. 

Hoping to be on again very soon.... there is so much to say.  Life has been such a roller coaster lately... praising the Lord still.

Thank you Jesus for my beautiful family and home!

The Sacramento Children's Museum

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of checking out the Sacramento Children's Museum with a few friends.  It really was amazing.   The boys played and played.  It really was the perfect place for them to explore.

a peek inside the museum

Okay, so maybe I got a little bit carried away with pictures from the Children's Museum, but I had so much fun and I want to share it with you.  And, yes, the boys had fun too!  If only we lived closer.

Cael & Kipp exploring "waterways" with the twins looking on from the stroller

our friends, having a great time

we had lunch in the "party room"

the big boys playing in "my neighborhood"

I had to pick Kipp up and set him in the boots :-)

Each exhibit had a mailbox so the kids were running around mailing letters- very fun!

"baby bloomers"

Yes, I realize Cael is a bit old for the "baby bloomers," but I was nursing the twins and wanted the big boys close.  This is the cutest spot for the the little guys.  They even have dress up costumes.  I wish I were able to take more pictures of everything, but when you take four boys ages 5 and under (and you are breastfeeding two of them) there isn't much time for picture taking!  And yes I took half of these pics while feeding the babies!  Hey, sometimes you just have to make it work.

"airways"

This was so neat!  This "contraption" would suck in the hankies or lightweight balls and they would go flying all the way through and then it would spit them out. 

um... yeah... I have no idea what this does...

"Studio of the Arts"

Needless to say we had a blast!  It was very convenient, relaxed and not so big that I had to worry about my children running off and it worked well for me- on my own with all four boys.  I even loved the bathrooms!  They had "real" changing tables and stall for the entire family.  Everything was just so kid friendly how could you not LOVE this place?!  We cannot wait to go back.

Kipp's 3rd Birthday

Sunday was Kipp's Birthday.  It was a very busy day filled with tons of fun.  We started out doing the 5k at Bishop's Pumpkin Farm and finished up with a family birthday party, cooking hot dogs over an open fire.

Happy Birthday Kippy!!

We love you "SOOO MUCH"!!

Bishop's Pumkin Farm 5k Fun Run

WE DID IT!!  We ran our first official family 5k this morning.

We loved doing this together and to make it even better it was on Kipp's Birthday.  It was so fun!

Cael started out running with me and then climbed on about a third of the way through.  For the most part Sean pushed the stroller with the 4 boys and I ran beside them.  There was a small section that was pretty bumpy so Sean and the boys took pictures while I ran.  (This is why all the pics are of me running)

I loved the run!  It was so beautiful.  The morning was overcast and cool. 

You could not have asked for a more perfect morning or run. 

It was the perfect day!

 Enjoy!

 Check out Bishop's 5k here.  With our entry fee we got a train ride, corn maze, and the kids got to go down the coyote mountain slides.  And it benefited the American Red Cross, even better!

I will post more pics of our great day at Bishop's in later post.  Now I am off to celebrate with Kippy on his THIRD birthday.

six beautiful years

Today is our anniversary.  Oh, happy day! 

I know I seem to be saying this a lot lately, but I cannot help it.  I am SO HAPPY!  Life could not get ANY better.  God is so AMAZING!  I have a peace and a happiness that I have never had before.  God has given me an amazing husband that gently leads me and blesses me every day.

Who knew life could be this FUN?! 

Thank you Lord for your many blessings!

Happy Anniversary husband, I love you more than ever.

Remina

Since my brother is in town this week.  I sat in the back of the van with the big boys, which gave me a great view of the babies. It seemed the perfect time to snap a few photos with my phone of my precious sleeping babes.

Before Church

Remington

Finnian

After Church

Remington in a "daddy's girl" onesie

During church Remington had an "explosion" and of course today was the ONE morning I didn't bring a spare set of clothes (we were running behind), usually I have so many extra things my bag weighs a ton.  Thankfully, a very kind, prepared mom of a DAUGHTER had an extra onesie to lend us.  Thank you to the random mom for lending me clothes for my poor naked son.  

And you thought it was bad to take your child to the store in a diaper!  Remington almost had to strut the diaper at church!

SUCCESS....?

How can a day fall apart SO quickly?

Our week went so well.  Sean was TDY this week, so it has just been me and the boys for the first time since the twins were born.  I was a bit leery of how the week would go, but had high hopes that all would go well and it did, until today.

This morning the house was clean, now it is DESTROYED.

This morning daddy was coming home early afternoon, now it will be after bedtime.

This morning the mood was cheery, now I am hanging on by a thread... oh, wait, no I think it snapped.

It got so crazy I finally just loaded the boys in the van and drove around, gotta love car seats!  The only time it is legal to STRAP THEM DOWN!!  I tried to ease the pain of the bad day with a latte from Starbuck's, but I had to order a soy latte (I am going dairy-free since Remington is having problems spitting-up) not so yummy or soothing.

Anyway, maybe if I just talk about how great the week was the bad day will disappear?  I will give it a try...

Auntie Lauren was here for the first couple of days, which was WONDERFUL!  The boys stayed at the hotel with her for 2 of the nights that Sean was gone.  It was such a blessing to have some free time!  I did important things while the boys were out, such as surf the web and stare off into space-

BECAUSE I COULD!

One thing I learned is the babies MISSED their big brothers crazy antics!  They were so bored.  They fussed and fussed without all the wild, non-stop commotion.  Here I am always trying to get the big boys to settle down and stop bothering the babies!  Who would have thought they ENJOY being bothered?!

PAUSE...

Sean just sent a text... "I am flying over soon take the boys out"  How fun!  We just watched his plane go over the house!  Don't worry he was a passenger on a commercial airline, he wasn't illegally flying and texting!

Anyway, back to the week.  We were all sad when Auntie left; she is just so fun!  So, we went to the park, visited friends and for the very first time since the twins came along...

I went to the store with ALL FOUR boys by MYSELF!

Thankfully, we had a great time.  We must have all just been happy to get out of the house.  The babies didn't fuss, the big boys behaved and I shopped! Cael and I would swap pushing the stroller and cart with Kippy directing from the cart.  Will I ever be so lucky for things to go so well again?  I don't know, but at least our first time out was not a disaster!  The test run was a success.   It is good to know we can survive a week without dad.  Who knows when the next deployment will come along!

Well, I hear the sprinklers going outside so I know the boys are into more mischief!  I think it is time for a movie!  Thanks for listening... I am feeling better already!  (How does sharing- even if it is with nobody on a blog- help?  hmmm....  I am not sure, but it does!)

a great start

A few weeks ago I made a new friend and she invited my family over for a play date this morning.  We have a lot in common the most obvious commonality being four children ages 4 and under.  It was a fun morning and I enjoyed the visit immensely.  My boys also had a blast playing, dumping toys, spitting-up on her rug and peeing on the carpet (couldn't find the bathroom)!  Did I mention they are in the process of moving into their beautiful new home?!
Good times!

silence is GOLDEN!

Auntie Lauren, a photo by Muddy Clarity on Flickr.

Last night was absolutely wonderful! Sean's, Auntie Lauren is visiting us and staying in a nearby hotel and our big boys got to spend the night with her.
That was the first time (that I remember) we have ever had anyone take our boys for a night (you know how it is in the military... family is always on the OTHER side of the country!).  We have left for a couple of days twice, but have never been able to enjoy the SILENCE in our own home! I was loving the silence.  Now, I know I am contradicting myself from an earlier post where I said "A clean silent house without children would be just plain sad,"  BUT since it was just for the moment, it truly was wonderful!  Yes, we kept the twins with us, but it still felt like we had no children in our home!  Life with only the twins seemed a breeze.  They just can't compare with the big boys' non-stop energy; they can't go anywhere yet!  Give them a month and they will be into everything too, but as of right now they are relatively harmless.
I cannot say enough times what a wonderful evening we had.  Life seemed so still and peaceful!  Seriously, I have not been happier to just be.  There is always so much to be done, but last night everything stopped and we were able to savor every minute.  What a rare, precious opportunity to just sit and visit with my husband and enjoy his company with no (big) interruptions (only little ones). Thank you so much Auntie for giving us a break.
I love and enjoy my children more than I can say; they have made me recognize the beauty of silence!
I am beyond happy!  Thank you Auntie.

What a wonderful Fourth!

We had the most enjoyable weekend!  It was such a contrast to last year's Fourth.  Last year was a bit lonely with daddy deployed, of course I was pregnant with the twins and taking care of the "big" boys.  This year Sean is home, my mom was here visiting, we went to a parade, enjoyed fireworks TOGETHER, attended two VERY fun BBQs and have TWO MORE sweet boys to love and kiss!!  Last year made me enjoy EVERY moment of this year so much more.  I am so thankful for our fun weekend!

BBQ

NOTE: Finn was not deliberately left out of all pics.  He slept through all the excitement and somehow our pictures of him SLEEPING are way blurry! 

Random 4th Photos